A passion turned into a project…and then this blog.

When it’s too cold to grill

Well, as luck would have it now that our unseasonably warm weather has left us the next cookbook on my shelf is a grilling cookbook. Also as luck would have it, after getting home late for work I found the propane of my grill was empty. (Actually I think that last one was actually luck because who wants to stand out in 20 degree (F) weather and grill?!) So I improvised and ended up cooking inside.

The recipe comes from:

The recipe tagged was for Marinated Chicken with Garlic, Chiles and Citrus Juices. Sounds YUM!

I placed the marinade in a glass baking dish and mixed in chopped onion.

Then I rubbed my chicken with the marinade. The chicken had started as a whole chicken and I removed the backbone (and froze it for stock making later). Then I cut the chicken in half lengthwise at the breast. I covered the chicken and refrigerated overnight.

just fits!

When it was time to cook I preheated my oven to 425. I seasoned my chicken halves with salt and pepper, placed on a baking sheet and placed in the oven.

I roasted for 50 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once. I removed the chicken from the oven and let rest for a few minutes.

I then served the chicken with a quickly whipped together coleslaw.

photo bombed by Cheetoh!

How did it taste? The chicken had really nice flavor from the marinade. It was nice and “bright.” This marinade will be one to bring out in the middle of winter, just to brighten things up a bit. But I have to say the star of the plate was the coleslaw. I modified slightly a recipe from Mark Bittman’s cookbook How to Cook Everything, a cookbook I reference SO often and really think everyone should have a copy of it. In fact if I could only own one cookbook, it would be this one…Anyway, the coleslaw was creamy and tangy, and for me, someone who normally doesn’t go gaga over coleslaw it was the best coleslaw I have EVER eaten…EVER! So not only do I include below the recipe for the chicken I made, but also the coleslaw. And buy Mark Bittman’s cookbook!

In a small bowl whisk together oil, juices, chile powder, chipotle pepper and garlic. Put marinade in a glass baking dish large enough to fit both chicken halves. Stir onions into the marinade and then coat the chicken halves in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Remove chicken from marinade. Place chicken on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Place chicken in the oven and roast for 50 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once while cooking.